U.S. patent application number 12/958015 was filed with the patent office on 2012-03-29 for interactive learning method with drawing.
Invention is credited to Joanne Liang.
Application Number | 20120077165 12/958015 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45871023 |
Filed Date | 2012-03-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120077165 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liang; Joanne |
March 29, 2012 |
INTERACTIVE LEARNING METHOD WITH DRAWING
Abstract
An interactive learning method with drawing is implemented by
the execution of a program incorporated with a screen. A sequence
of dots is provided on the screen. Children connect adjacent dots
starting from the starting dot in sequence. A connecting line
appears between a pair of adjacent dots when they are connected
successively. Finally, those connecting lines constitute an object
when all the pairs of adjacent dots have been connected and a
series of images or an animation related to the object is displayed
to strengthen children's learning impression and recognition
ability. After that, a few buttons are provided on screen. When the
button is touched or clicked by the children, its corresponding
object is explained by text or/and voice. By doing so, it may
enhance their ability of reading and listening. Hence, this
interactive learning method can increase children's interest in
learning. Consequently, they can learn by themselves.
Inventors: |
Liang; Joanne; (San Jose,
CA) |
Family ID: |
45871023 |
Appl. No.: |
12/958015 |
Filed: |
December 1, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
434/261 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09B 11/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
434/261 |
International
Class: |
G09B 19/00 20060101
G09B019/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 23, 2010 |
TW |
99132214 |
Claims
1. An interactive learning method with drawing, which is
implemented by execution of a program incorporated with a screen,
comprising the steps of: (1) clicking a connection item on the
screen to activate a drawing interface with dots; (2) asking a user
to connect the dots in a predetermined sequence; and (3) examining
if each of the dots is accurately connected in the sequence, and
asking the user to connect again from the previous dot when the dot
is not accurately connected.
2. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of
showing a connecting line on the screen between two of the dots
when the dots are accurately connected.
3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the dots not connected
yet are represented by a first color, and are changed to be
represented by a second color when the dots are accurately
connected.
4. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein a plurality of numbers
are provided beside the dots on the screen.
5. The method as defined in claim 3, wherein a plurality of numbers
are provided beside the dots on the screen.
6. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of
providing another sequence of dots to wait for connection after the
dots are accurately connected.
7. The method as defined in claim 6, further comprising the step of
showing at least a portion of a picture related to the connection
item or filling in color in a region surrounded by the dots when
the dots are accurately connected.
8. The method as defined in claim 6, further comprising the step of
providing a question window to ask the user to answer what the user
is connecting and a scoring window to show a score according to
answers of the user.
9. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step of
providing at least a new dot on the screen appended to the end of
the sequence for connection when the user has accurately connected
one of the dots on the screen.
10. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the dots are shown in
an array on the screen, and the dots for connection are represented
by a first color and the rest of the dots in the array are
represented by a second color.
11. The method as defined in claim 10, further comprising the step
of changing at least one of the dots with the second color to be
with the first color and allowing the user to connect the dots from
the last dot in the sequence when the user has accurately connected
one of the dots of the first color on the screen.
12. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step
of playing an animation, a video or pictures after all of the dots
are accurately connected.
13. The method as defined in claim 12, further comprising the step
of showing a learning image after playing the animation, wherein
the learning image has at least one interpretation point for the
user to click, and a name of an object associated with the
interpretation point is shown and read when the interpretation
point is clicked.
14. The method as defined in claim 12, further comprising the step
of providing a quiz game about the animation or the pictures after
playing the animation or showing the pictures.
15. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the user uses a mouse
to move and control an arrow on the screen to connect the dots.
16. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the screen used is a
touch screen, and the user connects dots by using a pen to draw on
a touch screen.
17. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising the step
of providing an auxiliary window after clicking the connection item
on the screen to give the user a hint about what the user is going
to connect.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention is generally related to a method of
learning, and more particularly to an interesting and interactive
method of learning with drawing.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Children have a great ability of learning. However, their
focus is often interrupted or distracted by their surroundings.
Therefore, how to efficiently draw in children's attention and
motivate them to learn has been the main concern of parents,
teachers and developers of learning materials.
[0005] A lot of learning materials in the market are created for
children at different ages. For example, flash cards are designed
to use pictures as media to teach children to recognize the objects
or characters in the pictures, and help them to understand their
meaning, which is usually given by the accompanying parents or
teachers. Such kind of learning materials can only be used while
parents or teachers are around. This is because they are required
to give instruction and assistance even though pictures and colors
can often catch the attention of children. In other words, parents
or teachers are the real source of knowledge. Without their
presence, such learning materials lose the function of delivering
knowledge.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide
an interactive learning method with drawing. A computer (PDA, iPAD
or mobile phones, or other devices on which programs can execute)
is used as the platform and a screen as the interface. By using the
powerful functions of processing pictures, animation and sound
provided by computers, the present invention may increase
children's interest in learning in an interactive way via the
interface. Consequently, they can learn by themselves.
[0007] To meet the primary objective, the interactive learning
method with drawing proposed in this invention is implemented by
the execution of a program incorporated with a monitor. The steps
in the method include: (1) Clicking a connection item on the screen
to activate a sequence of dots to appear on the screen, starting
from the starting dot C1, the second dot C2, and so forth until the
m.sup.th dot Cm. (2) From the starting dot, children connect each
dot to its next dot in sequence. (3) The program will examine if
the next dot is connected successfully. If it is, the program will
proceed to connect the next dot. If not, the program will restart
from the last successfully connected dot and the children have to
connect it to its next dot again.
[0008] In the interactive learning method with drawing proposed in
this invention, a series of images or an animation related to the
connection item will be displayed after completing all the
connections between adjacent dots in sequence to strengthen the
learning impression.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a sketch diagram of the system for the interactive
learning method with drawing of a first preferred embodiment of the
present invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the operation of the first
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 3 to FIG. 10 are sketch diagrams of the operation of
the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are sketch diagrams of the drawing
interface and the dot-connecting-drawing in a second preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 13 to FIG. 15 are sketch diagrams of the drawing
interface and the dot-connecting-drawing in a third preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 16 is a ketch diagram of the question window and the
scoring window in a fourth preferred embodiment of the present
invention;
[0015] FIG. 17 is a sketch diagram of the drawing interface and the
dot-connecting-drawing in a fifth preferred embodiment of the
present invention; and
[0016] FIG. 18 is a sketch diagram of the drawing interface and the
dot-connecting-drawing in a sixth preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0017] The present invention provides an interactive method for
children to learn by execution of a program incorporated with a
monitor. As shown in FIG. 1, the first preferred embodiment of the
present invention provides a monitor 1 connected to a machine 3 on
which programs can execute. The children interact with a touch
screen 1a of the monitor 1 with a pen 2. Please refer to FIG. 2 for
the flow chart of the operation when executing the program of the
present invention. FIG. 3 to FIG. 10 demonstrates how to interact
with the touch screen 1a.
[0018] In FIG. 3, the screen 1a contains a learning menu 10. The
learning menu 10 has several items for the user to choose from,
such as "ZOO", "ENGLISH VILLAGE", "GYM", and other icons. A child
may click the items on the screen 1a with the pen 2. To make the
following description easier to understand, we assume that one kid
clicks "ZOO" in the following paragraphs.
[0019] In FIG. 4, a screen of options 12 appears after one clicks
on "ZOO". The screen of options 12 has several connection items 14
represented by animal icons, such as dolphin, turtle, cock, and so
forth. In fact, the connection items 14 can be represented by texts
or something in other forms. The screen 1a also shows several
arrows 16 to expand the screen for more options of animals. The
connection items 14 can be chosen by clicking their icons with the
pen 2. It is noted that if the user clicks "ENGLISH VILLAGE", the
connection items 14 are represented by texts rather than icons.
[0020] FIG. 5 shows a drawing interface 18 after clicking or
hitting the "dolphin" in FIG. 4. The drawing interface 18 contains
a sequence of dots, starting from a starting dot C1, a second dot
C2 . . . , till a 30.sup.th dot C30. These dots C1.about.C30
orderly form the shape of a dolphin. It is noted that the number of
the dots varies according to the image to draw. In order to guide
the children to draw correctly, the numbers from 1 to 30 are
further provided in the drawing interface 18 of the present
embodiment. Each number has its own corresponding dot. For example,
1 corresponds to C1, 2 corresponds to C2, . . . , and 30
corresponds to C30. These numbers are placed beside their
corresponding dots. However, the numbers can also be removed to
increase the difficulty. The drawing interface 18 can also be added
with auxiliary lines 20 and auxiliary dots 22 to get a better shape
of a dolphin.
[0021] In FIG. 6, a child is connecting the dots on the drawing
interface 18 with the pen 2. Following the order of the numbers,
he/she starts from C1 to connect each dot to its next dot in
sequence. In fact, connecting a dot to its next dot is drawing from
the dot to its next dot with the pen 2 on the touch screen. A
connecting line 24 will appear between adjacent dots if the
connection between them succeeds. The result of connecting from C1
to C22 in sequence is also shown in FIG. 6. It is noted that when a
user tries to connect dots without following the order, it is
detected as wrong connection and no connecting line is produced.
For example, if the user is now trying to connect from C22 to C24,
no connecting line will appear between C22 and C24 on the drawing
interface 18. The user has to restart from C22 until he/she
successfully connects from C22 to C23, and then a connecting line
between C22 and C23 appears on the drawing interface 18. That is,
restarting the connection from the last successfully connected dot
C22 rather than the staring dot C1 in order not to decrease the
enjoyment of the drawing. Besides, when the user tries to connect
from C22 to C23 but he/she takes the pen off the screen before the
C23 is reached, no connecting line will appear between C22 and C23.
Similarly, a reconnection has to start from C22.
[0022] After the user connects all of the dots from C1 to C30 in
sequence, the connecting lines form a shape of a dolphin 26 as
shown in FIG. 7. We call this kind of drawing the
"dot-connecting-drawing".
[0023] After the dolphin is shown, an animation or a video with
text or voice is played on screen 1a to tell the user more
information about the theme--the dolphin in this case. In fact, the
dolphin created by the dot-connecting-drawing moves in the
animation or video such that the user can know the behavior of the
dolphin. It is noted that the object moves in the animation after
the dot-connecting-drawing may not be the one drawn by the user.
For example, it may show the animation of "running water" after the
child draws a "faucet", or it may just shows some pictures to tell
more information when the user finishes the
dot-connecting-drawing.
[0024] After the animation, a learning screen 28 is shown in FIG.
8. The learning screen 28 contains several interpretation points
30. Each of them corresponds to an object on the screen. When the
interpretation point 30 is touched or clicked by the children, its
corresponding object is explained by text or/and voice. By doing
so, it may enhance their ability of reading and listening.
[0025] The learning screen 28 also includes an advance menu 32,
including "play animation", "learn more", "quiz", and other
options. The animation is played again when the child hits "play
animation". More knowledge about the animation is displayed when
the child hits "learn more". When the child hits "quiz", a quiz
game 34 as shown in FIG. 9 begins. The quiz game 34 contains
several multiple-choice questions about the animation, such as
"Whom does the dolphin meet in the sea?". Some possible answers are
also provided, such as "gold fish", "killer whale", "sea turtle",
and "sea lion". The child tries to choose the correct answer from
them. The screen will show "o" when the child chooses the correct
answer, as shown in FIG. 10, or "x" for the wrong answer. The child
may hit "next" for the next question or "exit" to go back to the
learning screen 28 in FIG. 8. The quiz game 34 may train children's
attention and memory.
[0026] The learning method of the first preferred embodiment of the
present invention may attract children to learn by doing the
dot-connecting-drawing. The animation or video after the
dot-connecting-drawing may enhance children's ability of
understanding and cognition. The design of the interpretation
points may train children to read and listen, and the quiz game may
enhance the children's attention and memory. The present invention
provides an interactive learning method to attract children to
learn.
[0027] In order to make the learning process more interesting, the
dot-connecting-drawing may vary as follows.
[0028] FIG. 11 shows the second preferred embodiment of the present
invention, in which a drawing interface 36 is used for the same
dolphin used earlier. This preferred embodiment differs from the
first preferred embodiment in the number of dots provided in the
beginning. Only partial dots starting from the starting dot C1
appear on the drawing interface 36 in the beginning. For example,
only nine dots, C1 to C9, appear on the drawing interface 36. When
the child correctly completes the connection between C1 and C2, C10
appears on the drawing interface 36. The child continues to
complete the connection between C2 and C3, C11 appears on the
drawing interface 36. This process continues until the last dot Cn
(represented as a hollow dot in FIG. 11) appears and it is
successfully connected. In summary, a next new dot appears when a
connection completes. FIG. 12 shows that the child has completed
the connections from C1 to C7, so six dots, C10 to C15, also appear
on the drawing interface 36. In other words, there are always eight
dots waiting for connection on the drawing interface 36 before the
last dot Cn appears. When the child finishes connecting all the
dots, C1 to Cn, the shape of dolphin formed with the connecting
lines appears on the screen. Because only partial dots appear on
the screen most of the time, the child will not know what he/she
going to draw and the appearance of dolphin is becoming clearer as
more dots are connected. This may make the process more
interesting.
[0029] FIG. 13 shows the third preferred embodiment of the present
invention. A penguin will be drawn here. The different part of this
preferred embodiment is that a drawing interface 38 provides more
than one sequence of dots. In FIG. 13, there is a sequence of dots
including a solid dot 38a and a number of hollow dots 38b. A dot
line 38c connects the dots 38a and 38b. The solid dot 38a is the
starting dot and the end dot of the sequence at the same time.
However, the solid dot 38a and the hollow dots 38b can be
represented by different colors, and then they can be distinguished
by their colors. After the child has done the
dot-connecting-drawing on this sequence of dots, the connecting
lines constitute a closed area and a portion of a penguin picture
40 appears in this area as shown in FIG. 14. In the meantime,
another sequence of dots 42 appears and the user will do the
dot-connecting-drawing on them next. This process continues until
the last sequence of dots is processed by the
dot-connecting-drawing, and then a penguin picture appears on the
screen as shown in FIG. 15. In the present embodiment, the
connecting lines in each sequence of dots constitute a closed area.
However, it is not necessarily a closed area. It is possible that
it is a line with some turning points. Hence, it is not necessary
that a portion of a penguin picture appears for each sequence of
dots. Sometimes, the connecting lines of multiple sequences are
required to constitute a closed area. Similarly, a portion of a
penguin picture appears in the closed area. However, it is not
necessary that the closed area is filled with a portion of a
penguin picture. Instead, the user can fill color in the closed
area.
[0030] Additionally, drawing interface 38 contains a question
window 44 and a scoring window 46 as shown in FIG. 16 for the
fourth preferred embodiment. The question window 44 provides
questions to ask children, such as "what is the animal?", and some
answers for the children to choose, such as "penguin", "zebra",
"black bear", and "giraffe". The scoring window 46 gives a score
according to how fast the user gives the right answer. Actually, it
depends on how many sequences of dots have been completed before
the right answer is given. The fewer sequences the user needs, the
higher score the user can get. The question window 44 and the
scoring window 46 of the fourth preferred embodiment can be used in
other preferred embodiments of the present invention to have more
fun in the game.
[0031] FIG. 17 shows the fifth preferred embodiment of the present
invention. A drawing interface 48 appears after clicking or hitting
the "cock". A cock will be drawn. The drawing interface 48 has an
array 50 formed by a number of red dots 50a. The dots for the
dot-connecting-drawing distribute over the array. A blue dot 52 is
used as the starting dot, and its next dot is shown as a hollow dot
54. When the child correctly connects from the blue dot 52 to the
hollow dot 54, a connecting line appears between them and the
hollow dot becomes a blue dot. In the meantime, there is another
red dot 50a converted into a hollow dot. The user is supposed to
connect from the new blue dot to the hollow dot next. This process
continues until the shape of a cock appears. This kind of
dot-connecting-drawing is another way to train children's
concentration.
[0032] The drawing interface 48 also contains a "hint" button 56.
An auxiliary window 58 is opened to show the shape of what the
child is going to draw when the "hint" button is clicked or hit.
The "hint" function is applicable to all of the embodiments of the
present invention mentioned earlier.
[0033] In the previous preferred embodiments, a connecting line
appears between two adjacent dots when they are connected
successively in the process of dot-connecting-drawing. The sixth
preferred embodiment of the present invention shows another way to
tell the success of connection between two dots in FIG. 18. In the
beginning, all the dots are not connected. The starting dot is
represented by one color (first color) and the rest of dots are
represented by another color (second color). The
dot-connecting-drawing starts from the starting dot. The dot
changes its color from the first color to the second color when it
is connected. Hence, the dots 62 have been connected are
represented by one color (shown as solid dots) and the dots 60 have
not been connected are represented by another (shown as hollow
dots).
[0034] In the above embodiments, the pen 2 is used to draw on the
touch screen 1a to connect the dots. However, the execution of
dot-connecting-drawing is not limited to be performed by the pen 2
and the touch screen 1a. For example, rather than using a pen, the
user can use a mouse to move and control an arrow on the screen. If
so, the screen is not limited to a touch screen.
[0035] The description above is a few preferred embodiments of the
present invention and the equivalence of the present invention is
still in the scope of claim construction of the present
invention.
* * * * *